In spite of West Ham’s poor form, summer arrival Pablo Fornals has started to show the sort of promise which made the club part with £24m to bring him to the London Stadium. In his last four games, the Spanish international has three assists, including one at the weekend to set up Sebastien Haller and ensure they weren’t thrust into the relegation zone. Though the club ought to be cautious to protect their star midfielder and make sure he does not travel the same path as fellow midfielder Manuel Lanzini.
The Argentine arrived in London and displayed a lot of early promise, though injuries setbacks have consistently cost the midfielder from fulfilling his potential. In total Lanzini has missed 532 days of action since joining in 2015. While not all of those injuries can be considered Lanzini’s fault, the condition in which the West Ham medical staff and the player have taken care of his body has to come into question.
Though when fit the Argentine playmaker has had some bright spells, twice for the club he has achieved double figures of goals and assists combined, but consistency has been a significant issue. It took Fornals 48 appearances to register the three assists prior to his recent improved run, and the Spaniard must use his newfound momentum as a launchpad to make sure it does not take him almost 50 games to register the next three.
Before arriving in England, Fornals, valued at £19.8m (Transfermarkt), provided a significantly larger goal-scoring contribution as well. He is yet to get off the mark for West Ham but has scored as many as six goals in a season when he was with Malaga. Part of the issue is that the Spaniard is shooting significantly less, while his key passes have nearly halved since joining the Hammers. It may just be a confidence issue due to their position in the league table, but it is a problem Manuel Pellegrini will be keen to address.
Regardless of situation West Ham find themselves in, Fornals has stepped up his game of late to create chances for attackers when they have needed them most. It is a strong show of character, but if he is to avoid becoming the next Lanzini, then it must become a consistent attribute of his game.
